Cockroach Janta Party's X account to stay blocked: Delhi HC declines to order immediate restoration

The Delhi High Court on Friday (May 29) refused to order the immediate restoration of the X account of viral political satire movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). While hearing a plea by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke challenging the blocking of the party's X handle by the government on national security grounds, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav directed a review panel to examine the matter.

Cockroach Janta Party's X account remains blocked

Hearing the petition, Justice Kaurav directed the Review Committee constituted under India's Information Technology Rules to consider the challenge against the account blocking and place its findings on record.

While the Court issued notice to the Union government and social media platform X, it stopped short of granting interim relief sought by Dipke, meaning the account will remain blocked for now.

Why was Cockroach Janta Party's X account suspended?

The account was reportedly suspended on national security grounds, though neither the petitioner nor the Court has yet been shown the blocking order.

Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal, appearing for Dipke, argued that the account should be restored while the case is being heard. He contended that authorities could have adopted a narrower approach by restricting specific objectionable posts rather than blocking the entire account.

Sibal also questioned how such an order could have been passed without allowing the account holder to respond.

He pointed out that in previous disputes involving blocked social media accounts, courts had sometimes permitted restoration of the account while allowing allegedly objectionable content to remain restricted.

Dipke's legal team also informed the Court that he is currently outside India and requested permission for him to participate in future proceedings before the Review Committee through video conferencing. The Court said such a request could be placed before the committee, which would decide the matter in accordance with law.

GOI argues against account restoration

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre opposed Dipke's plea, prompting the Court to reserve a deeper examination of the issues until the government's detailed response is filed.
During the hearing, the Court observed that the dispute raises larger legal questions that require careful consideration, particularly because the law governing online content blocking continues to evolve. The Bench also indicated that the present case may differ from earlier matters cited by the petitioner because concerns raised by authorities appear to relate to the overall activities of the account rather than a handful of individual posts.

In another significant observation, the Court noted that neither it nor the petitioner had seen the actual blocking order. It added that if necessary, directions regarding production of the complete record could be considered at a later stage.